The investigative news organization Sludge has reported that the fossil fuel industry has funneled a record amount of money into the election cycle using a pair of super PACs whose stated goal is securing GOP control of the House and Senate.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Sludge reported that major oil and gas companies Chevron and ConocoPhillips as well as the lobbying organization the American Petroleum Institute have donated more than $20 million total to the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) and the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) in the third quarter of 2024.
“The latest wave of donations brings the fossil fuel industry’s total to more than $54.2 million given to the CLF and SLF during the 2023-24 election cycle through September, according to Sludge’s analysis,” the outlet reported. “The two super PACs have launched tens of millions of dollars of ads in the month before Election Day, with control of both chambers of Congress up for grabs.”
This new report on Big Oil’s cash injection in the last few weeks of the 2024 campaign follow’s Donald Trump request to major fossil fuel industry players to raise $1 billion for his White House bid. Trump has promised to roll back environmental regulations which would benefit the oil industry.
The organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a criminal bribery complaint in regards to Trump’s meeting with oil and gas executives. Democratic members of congress are currently investigating the former president’s “quid pro quo solicitations.”
The oil and gas industry has dumped over $152 million on campaign contributions this election cycle, with nearly 90% of it going to Republican candidates.
The Washington Post has reported the billionaire founder of Continental Resources, Harold Hamm, “has become Trump’s point person in raising funds from oil industry donors and relaying to the ex-president what the industry wants.”
So far, the oil and gas industry has given over $21 million to Trump’s campaign committee and PACs supporting his candidacy, and Big Oil has it’s legal team drawing up executive orders for Trump to sign if he wins the election in November.
Recent FEC filings also show that Trump’s campaign has also received a an enormous amount of cash in recent months from the billionaires Elon Musk and Kelcy Warren.
Joshua Graham Lynn, CEO of the anti-corruption group RepresentUs, said in a recent statement that “the latest super PAC filings show that a handful of billionaires are spending staggering amounts of money to influence the outcome of our elections.”